FXBG Neighbors Podcast
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
FXBG Neighbors Podcast
EP #112 Inside Suite Tooth Pediatrics: Calming Dental Care For Kids
Smiles don’t have to start with fear. We sit down with Ashlee Kato of Suite Tooth Pediatrics to explore how a kid-first approach can turn dental visits from meltdowns into milestones. From the first tooth to the senior year photo, she shows how thoughtful design, clear communication, and science-backed care build brave patients and calmer parents.
Dr. Kato shares her journey from a family of dentists to launching a pediatric practice in Stafford, Virginia, and why behavior guidance matters as much as clinical skill. You’ll hear practical strategies you can use right away: tell–show–do to reduce anxiety, early visits to catch problems before they escalate, and prevention routines that actually stick. We dig into tools like fluoride, sealants, silver diamine fluoride, and mouthguards for young athletes, plus the small, consistent habits that cut cavity risk without power struggles.
We also talk entrepreneurship, balance, and community. Dr. Kato opened Suite Tooth Pediatrics while growing her own family, and she’s candid about what helped—starting lean, listening to patient feedback, and measuring what matters: experience, trust, and recall. The result is a clinic that treats two patients at once—the child in the chair and the parent beside them—so everyone leaves informed, respected, and confident. If you’re a caregiver looking for a better dental experience or a founder seeking heart-forward leadership lessons, this story will stick.
Ready to rethink your next checkup? Follow, share with a friend who has little ones, and leave a quick review to help more neighbors find the show.
Dr. Ashlee Kato
Suite Tooth Pediatrics
info@suitetoothpediatrics.com
+1 540-426-0779
1229 Garrisonville Rd , Stafford, VA
1229 Garrisonville Rd, Suite 101 Stafford, VA
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dory Stewart.
SPEAKER_01:Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. I have a special guest joining me today. We've got Dr. Ashley Cato joining us, and she is with Sweettooth Pediatrics. Welcome to the podcast. Good morning. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to dive in and learn all about you and your business. So let's start there. Share with us a little bit about Sweet Tooth Pediatrics.
SPEAKER_02:So Sweet Tooth Pediatrics is the perfect stop shop for your little ones for all your oral health care and dental needs. We are a semi-new practice located in Stafford, Virginia. We've been open for about a little over a year now. And we specialize solely in pediatric care. So we see patients as young as under one year old when you're first getting teeth, all the way up to 18 when you're ready to go to college and you're off to school. We specialize in all oral healthcare needs, uh, including hygiene, cleanings, restorative, um, and anything further you may need. So we're always excited to welcome our little ones.
SPEAKER_01:Amazing. Well, welcome to Stafford and congratulations on hitting that one-year milestone. That's a big thing.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. So I want to learn more about you. Tell me about your background and how you got into this.
SPEAKER_02:Oh man, so I am originally from Buffalo, New York. So I'm a native of upstate New York. Uh, I originally came down to the area for school. I attended Howard Undergrad, uh, Howard University for undergrad and attended University of Maryland, Baltimore for dental school. Uh, I really fell in love with this area. Um, I have a lot of family from Virginia, so it's really near and dear to my heart. Um, but my passion for children really stemmed from an early age. I always knew that I wanted to work with this population. I truly believe, as cliche as it sounds, that children are the future and we are molding our next generation. So I knew that whatever I did, I wanted to work with our next generation in terms of inspiring them and cultivating them. Um, dentistry was kind of innate. Uh, I come from a long line of dentists. My grandfather was a dentist, my father was a dentist. Um, so I was introduced to the dental field at a very early age. Um, so it was kind of cool to be able to create combine both of my passions with between pediatrics and dentistry uh to do what I love.
SPEAKER_01:I love that. And what pride your family must have that you have carried on the family tradition. I love that. So let me ask you a question. When it comes to pediatric dentistry, do you find that there are any myths or misconceptions that you hear?
SPEAKER_02:Oh man, I think a lot of times when you think of kids at the dental office, you think of a lot of tears and crying and it kind of being a scary place, right? But sweet tooth pediatrics, but I one, I thought of the name Sweet Tooth because I wanted it to be a sweet-like experience for children. So I want you to come here and and feel like you went to Disney World or you're here to have a good time, right? We don't want to make the dentist a scary place. I feel like it shapes your perception of dental care for the rest of your life. Um, so for us, it was like if we can make this experience fun and exciting, you'll want to continue to come see us and want to continue to care about your oral hygiene and oral care. Um, so that was really important to me. Um, I think what's really cool for me as a provider is to take a child or a baby who's super nervous about coming to the dentist and who may have started out as fearful, like we talked about, but to gradually get them to a place where they're they're confident to get in the chair, they're excited to get the work done. Um, and we've taken them to a place that they can be proud of.
SPEAKER_01:I love that you've put a lot of thought and effort into creating an experience that kids potentially are excited to go to the dentist instead of like, no, mom, you gotta go to the daddy. Yes. I love that. Thank you for uh on behalf of moms, thank you for creating that environment.
SPEAKER_02:Of course, of course.
SPEAKER_01:So speaking of fun when you're not working, because clearly you're busy with, I mean, the first year of any business is like a whirlwind, right? So what are you doing for fun when you're not working?
SPEAKER_02:Oh man, so I am a mom myself, so that is uh fun is is such a loaded question, right? But we have fun all the time. So I do have a four-year-old, almost five-year-old now, and a brand new baby. He's almost five months. Um, so I have a lot of fun on the weekends. The weekends is like my fun time to kind of decompress um a lot of sports and activities with my little ones. Um, my husband and I like to catch up on movies, Netflix, things like that. So that's always a lot of fun. I used to be an athlete, so I used to play basketball and track and things like that and stay active and busy. But my little ones, they take up most of my time now. They're a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_01:So they keep you running. You're still running.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly, exactly.
SPEAKER_01:Wow. So a five-month-old and in your first year of business. Oh my goodness, I'm tired for you.
SPEAKER_02:No, it's been a whirlwind, it's been a whirlwind, but so cool because I I think it's cool. He gets to grow with the practice. He's literally been here in my belly since day one, right? So yeah, he gets to grow with us, which is nice.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. What advice would you give someone listening to to this who might be inspired by you and thinking about starting a business?
SPEAKER_02:Oh man, you know what I would say? I would honestly say just do it because I think for so long you kind of mull over. Should I do it? Should I not do it? What if this happens? What if it doesn't work out? Um, but I always say time is gonna pass regardless. And so, and you only live once. So if there's something you want to try, there's something you want to do, why not do it? You know, see how it goes. Follow your passions, follow your dreams, um, and do what makes you happy. Like I said, I mean, as as you know, business ownership can be stressful and you have days where it's very trying. But if you're still doing things that feed your passion, like working with children or communicating with people or building your community, I think you know you always win in that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. If you never try, you never know if it would work out. Yes. Great advice. Yeah, I love that. So, what is something that you wish the listeners knew about sweet tooth pediatrics?
SPEAKER_02:Oh man. I wish they knew that we truly, truly care about your child and not only their oral healthcare needs, but mentally and emotionally, how we can keep experiences positive. I always say when I treat my little ones that I'm not treating one patient, I'm treating two patients because the parent, the mom, the dad, you know, also can be very nervous about treatment. It can be very scary. This is their baby. Um, so I want listeners to know that we not only care about your little one, but we care about you. We care about the questions that you may have. We care about how we can make this experience an easier one for you, a more digestible one. Um, so my most important thing is I want to keep everyone happy. I want you to come in um feeling like all your questions and your needs were met. Um, and I want to continue to build that relationship and grow with the family.
SPEAKER_01:I'm really glad that you mentioned that because we talked earlier about creating a great experience for the kids, but you've also put a lot of thought into creating a great experience for the parents as well.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, very important. Very important. And now that you know I am by myself, I really I see how important that is for sure.
SPEAKER_01:What do you love most about what you do?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, you know, the kids keep you on your toes. So I would say every day is not like the last one. Um, they're a lot of fun, they keep me laughing, which is cool. Um, it is really nice. You know, I've been practicing dentistry for almost 10 years now, coming up on my 10-year anniversary. Um, and it's a lot of fun to see my babies grow. So to see a child that I may have treated at three and now they're 10 now, just to grow with them and see how brave and strong they're becoming and how beautifully they're growing, like that's very rewarding for me.
SPEAKER_01:That is a really cool thing about what you do, is you can get someone in there as a baby, and you can watch them grow. It's very cool.
SPEAKER_02:And it goes so fast, as you know, it just happens really quickly. Yeah, I love that.
SPEAKER_01:So if the listeners want to learn more from you, if they want to connect you, uh, where can they find you?
SPEAKER_02:Okay, so we are uh we do have a website. You can find us at Sweet Tooth Pediatrics, and that is S-U-I-T-E for Sweet Tooth Pediatrics. We are on Instagram, we're on Facebook, we do offer online booking. So anytime you wanted to just come in and see us or bring your little one in, feel free to use our website. And of course, you can always give us a call. Um, our number is also listed on our website and our Instagram.
SPEAKER_01:Amazing. Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing Sweet Tooth Pediatrics with us. Yes, thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_02:I really appreciate it. You're welcome.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to FXBG NeighborsPodcast.com.